Improvement in safety-guards for the hammers of fire-arms



H. E. GIBBON.

Patnted Jan. 31, 1865.

N-FETE-RS, PIHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON, D. C,

UNrrnn FS rA rns H. E. .cIBBoN, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN SAFETY-GUARDS FOR THE HAMMERS 0F FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 46,H00, dated January 31, 1865.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY E. GIBBoN, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fire-Arms5 and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figures 1 and 2 are side views of a portion of a fire-arm to which my improvement has been applied, the hammer being shown in two different positions for the purpose of illustrating the operation of my said improvement.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

The object of this invention is to prevent the accidental discharge of a gun from careless handling or from unavoidable contact with other objects; and it consists in a device which looks the hammer in every position except that of full-cock, and which is alternately set and unset by the cooking and striking of the hammer.

A represents a portion of a fire-arm to which my improvement has been applied.

13 is the hammer of the piece, and G the nipple which receives the percussion-cap.

D is a curved rack, which projects downward and forward from the breast of thehammer, as seen in the drawings, and it carries at its lower end a dog, cl, which extends forward a little distance nearly in the direction of the convexity of the rack. The axis of the hammer is the center from which the curve of the rack is drawn.

E is a detent pivoted to the side of the gun forward of the hammer, and about in a line with the pivot of the hammer. Its shape is seen in the drawings, its tail-piece 6 extending in a straight line from its axis or pivot, and

I its engaging end a being elbow-shaped or formed to a right angle,whose sides are nearly of equal length. i The end 0 has a recess or shoulder, a, on the outer face of its elbow, by

means of which the detent is locked when the forward end of the spring F falls into the said recess. The spring F consists of a fiat steel plate fixed to the piece forward of the detent, and its end is bent forward at a right angle, so as to take hold of the shoulder a of the detent when that part of the detent is thrown back to the position shown in Fig. 2. In this example of my invention the said locking device is placed on the outside of the gun; but it may be concealed within the stock of the piece, or it may be covered in the position here shown by a suitable shield, so as to protect it from contact with other objects.

The operation of 'myinvention is as follows: YVhen the spring F presses against the outer or forward part of the detent, as shown in Fig. 1, the toe of the upper part, c, of the detent is driven against the curved rack D, with one or another of whose teeth it engages, and thereby holds the hammer away from the nipple O. The teeth of the rack are to be as many in number as will be necessary to control the hammer at half-cock, and all other positions except those of full-cock and when it is almost and also quite down upon the cap. When the hammer is drawn fully back to full-cock, the dog (Z strikes the too 0 of the detent and pushes it backward against the pressure of the spring, so.that the latter falls into the recess a and locks the detent in that position. The detent is now beyond the path described by the rack during the fall of the hammer, and the tail-piece e of the .detent is thrown in the direction of the path of the rack. WVhen the hammer falls, the dog (I strikes the projecting end of the tail of the detent and releases the shoulder a from the spring, which is then free again to force the upper part of the detent toward the rack, the toe striking against the smooth part f of the breast of the hammer, along which it slides while the hammer completes its descent. When the hammer is drawn back a little way and then released, it is held by the detent, and if, when the hammer is down upon a cap and the gun is loaded, any accident causes the hammer to be raised any distance less than full-cock, it cannot descend and explode the cap when it is released from the object which raised it because the detent will follow teeth, as above explained.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letthe rack, and also throwing it beyond the ters Patent path of the rack by means of the same dog d,

1. The combination, with the hammer of a substantially as above described. gun, of a toothed rack and spring-detent for v H. E. GIBBON. holding the hammer locked in certain posi- W'itnesses: tions, substantially as above described. WM. T. MCNAMARA,

2. Setting the detent for engagement with J D. HALL. 

